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John Ogilvie
Rev. John Ogilvie (1733 - 17 November 1813) was a Scottish poet and cleric. Life Ogilvie was born in Aberdeen, the eldest son of minister James Ogilvie. After graduating at the Aberdeen University, he was appointed to the parish of Lumphanan in 1759, and later the same year was transferred to Midmar, where he remained until his death.Macdonald, 20. Ogilvie was one of a contemporary group of Scottish literary clergy. He frequently appeared in the literary circles of London and Edinburgh, It was to Ogilvie, while dining with Boswell in London, that Johnson remarked, 'Let me tell you, the noblest prospect which a Scotsman ever sees is the high road which leads him to England.' At the age of 16 he wrote the hymn, "Begin, my soul, the exalted lay," afterwards included in his Poems on Several Subjects; but his most popular work as a hymn-writer is the paraphrase he contributed to the Scottish collection of 1781, "Lo, in the last of days behold." In 1764 he preached before the high commissioner of the General Assembly of the Scottish Church; in 1766 he was made a Doctor of Divinity by Aberdeen University, and in 1775 was appointed one of the committee for the revision of the 'Scottish Translations and Paraphrases.' He married in January 1771, and had a family. He died at Aberdeen. Writing His poems are long, and show learning rather than poetic gifts. Churchill, in the Journey, refers to them as "a tale of rueful length," spun out "under dark Allegory's flimsy veil." Johnson "saw nothing" in the Day of Judgment, but Boswell thought it had "no inconsiderable share of merit." His philosophical works were mainly attempts to defend the theology of his day against the deists and Hume. 'In "The Theology of Plato" he treats of topics not usually discussed by the Scottish metaphysicians. His works are: 1. 'The Day of Judgment: a Poem,' Edinburgh, 1753. 2. 'Poems on several Subjects, with Essay on Lyric Poetry,' London, 1762, an enlarged edition of which, in two vols., appeared in 1769. 3. 'Providence: an Allegorical Poem,' London, 1767. 4. 'Solitude, or the Elysium of the Poets,' 1765. 5. 'Sermons,' London, 1767. 6. 'Paradise: a Poem,' 1769. 7. 'Philosophical and Critical Observations on Composition,' 2 vols. London, 1774. 8. 'Rona: a Poem in seven books, with Map of the Hebrides,' London, 1777. 9. 'Inquiry into the Causes of Infidelity and Scepticism,' London, 1783. 10. 'The Fane of the Druids,' 1789. 11. "The Theology of Plato compared with the Principles of Grecian and Oriental Philosophers,' 1793. 12. 'Britannia: a national epic Poem in twenty books, with Dissertation on the Epic,' Aberdeen, 1801 (this volume contains an engraved portrait of the author). 13. 'Prophecy and the Christian Religion,' Aberdeen, 1808. 14. 'Triumphs of Christianity over Deism,' Dalkeith, 1805.Macdonald, 21. Recognition Ogilvie was elected a fellow of the Edinburgh Royal Society. Publications Poetry *''The Day of Judgment: A poem''. Edinburgh: Hamilton, Balfour, & Neill, 1753. *''The Day of Judgment: A poem, in two books ... to which are added ... odes''. London: G. Keith, 1759. *''Poems on Several Subjects''. London: G. Keith, 1762, 1764. *''Providence: An allegorical poem, in three books''. London: G. Burnett, 1764. *''Solitude; or, The Elysium of the poets: A vision; to which is subjoined an elegy''. London: G. Burnett, 1765. *''Paradise: A poem''. London: George Pearch, 1769. *''Poems on Several Subjects''. (2 volumes), London: George Pearch, 1769; Dublin: Samuel Watson, 1769.. *''Rona: A poem, in seven books''. London: J. Murray, 1777. *''The Fane of the Druids: A poem''. London: J. Murray, 1787. *''The Fane of the Druids: Book second''. London: J. Murray, 1789. *''Britannia: A national epic poem, in twenty books''. Aberdeen, UK: privately published, printed by J. Chalmers, 1801. Non-fiction *''An Essay on the Lyric Poetry of the Ancients''. in Poems on Several Subjects, 1762 **(edited by Wallace Jackson). Los Angeles: William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California, 1970. *''Observations on the Cause and Consequences of Prejudices against Religion: A sermon''. London: G. Burnett, 1764. *''Sermons on Several Subjects''. Edinburgh: John Balfour, 1766. *''Philosophical and Critical Observations: On the nature, characters, and various species of composition''. (2 volumes), London: G. Robinson, 1774. *''An Inquiry into the Causes for the Infidelity and Scepticism of the Times''. London: Richardson & Urquhart / W. Gordon / W. Creech / et al, 1783. *''The Theology of Plato: Compared with the principles of Oriental and Grecian Philosophers''. London: J. Deighton, 1793. *''The Triumphs of Christianity over Deism''. Dalkeith, UK: John Macintosh, 1805. *''An Examination of the Evidence from Prophecy on Behalf of the Christian Religion''. Aberdeen, UK: printed by J. Chalmers,, 1803. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:John Ogilvie, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Aug. 28, 2016. See also *List of British poets References * . Wikisource, Web, Aug. 29, 2016. Notes External links ;Poems *Rev. John Ogilvie (1733-1813) info & 5 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830 ;About * Ogilvie, John (1733-1813) Category:1733 births Category:1813 deaths Category:18th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Scottish clergy Category:Scottish poets Category:Christian poets Category:Christian hymnwriters Category:Scottish hymnwriters Category:Hymnists